Characteristics of older pedestrians who have difficulty crossing the street.
J A Langlois,
P M Keyl,
J M Guralnik,
D J Foley,
R A Marottoli and
R B Wallace
Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Md 20892-9205, USA.
OBJECTIVES: This study examined the sociodemographic and healthcharacteristics and problems of older pedestrians. METHODS:Interviews and assessments were conducted with 1249 enrolleesaged 72 or older from the New Haven, Conn, community of theEstablished Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderlywho agreed to participate in a seventh follow-up. RESULTS: Approximately11% of the New Haven residents reported difficulty crossingthe street. Older pedestrians needing help in one or more activitiesof daily living were more than 10 times as likely as others,and those with the slowest walking speeds were nearly 3 timesas likely as others, to report difficulty crossing the street.Fewer than 1% of these pedestrians aged 72 or older had a normalwalking speed sufficient to cross the street in the time typicallyallotted at signalized intersections (1.22 m/sec). CONCLUSIONS:Crossing times at signalized intersectíons in areas withlarge populations of elders should be extended, and the recommendedwalking speed for timing signalized crossings should be modifiedto reflect the range of abilities among older pedestrians.
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